Explore 婦 in words about family and social roles. Learn each reading with the whole word.
The idea
婦 has 11 strokes; follow the linked diagram. Its common reading is ふ, as in 夫婦（ふうふ） and 主婦（しゅふ）; in 妊婦（にんぷ） it becomes ぷ.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 夫婦 | ふうふ | married couple |
| 主婦 | しゅふ | homemaker |
| 妊婦 | にんぷ | pregnant woman |
Examples
- 夫婦は東京に住んでいます。The couple live in Tokyo.
- 母は主婦です。My mother is a homemaker.
- 妊婦は病院へ行きました。The pregnant woman went to the hospital.
- 夫婦は一緒に料理をします。The married couple cook together.
- 姉は助産師として働いています。My sister works as a midwife.
- 彼女は主婦の集まりに参加しました。She attended a homemakers’ meeting.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
婦 is not a general word for “woman” on its own. 主婦 refers to a homemaker, while 夫婦 means a married couple, not a single wife.
Try it yourself
夫婦の読みをひらがなで書いてください。
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ふうふ
夫婦 is ふうふ: the first 夫 has a long vowel; the word means a married couple.
主婦の読みをひらがなで書いてください。
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しゅふ
主婦 is しゅふ: 主 is しゅ and 婦 is ふ; together they mean homemaker.
妊＿（にんぷ）［婦／帰］
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婦
婦 completes 妊婦（にんぷ）, a pregnant woman. Here 婦 is pronounced ぷ.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
夫婦の読みをひらがなで書いてください。
主婦の読みをひらがなで書いてください。
妊＿（にんぷ）［婦／帰］
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write 婦 using the diagram, cover the table, then read 夫婦 and 主婦 and make a sentence.